Warmth
by Sweet Ashori
Summary: He often fell into darkness, feeling like it was the only place he belonged, the only place he could call home now. But times like this, times when the darkness fade and bathed him in light, he realized how blessed he actually was. Kuropika x Melody x Leorio fluff/friendship.


Disclaimer: I don't own Hunter x Hunter.

Authoress' Note: This is my first fic for this fandom! I had this idea come into my head after watching the Yorknew City arc, but then it reappeared after I watched The Last Mission. I hope you enjoy!

Warmth

The sunlight was the first thing Kurapika noticed. It wasn't too bright, but it was enough to be the first thing he consciously noticed. _'It's... morning...?'_ he thought groggily, confused; how could it be morning? It was just the start of the evening...

He winced, groaning as memories started to flood back to him... he was out in Yorknew with friends, a rare break, a necessary break... he had a run in with someone, someone that made a comment about the Spiders... made a comment towards him and his companions... there was blood, violence, rage... And then...

He lifted his left hand to his head, rubbing his aching temple. _'I remember now... I stopped because I had heard someone talk about the Spiders. They got irate, and so did I. Then I remember Melody pulling me back- Wait... Melody!?'_ his mind screamed, eyes widening as he panicked; what happened with Melody!?

That's when he realized where he was... it was in a hotel room of some sort. He was obviously on a bed, the feel of the soft mattress underneath his frame with a blanket draped over him. However, he also realized that he wasn't actually alone. He tried to sit up, but was stopped by the knowledge of someone holding onto his other arm. He turned to his right, blonde brows quirking at the sight.

Sharing the bed, covered with a familiar blue jacket, was Melody. She wasn't wearing the bucket hat she wore last night, it resting on a hook by the door, her silver hair in a messy fray around her head. One of her arms was wrapped around Kurapika's arm, the other holding loosely to her flute. He figured that she must had used it at some point to try and calm him down, although he didn't know she had it hidden on her person during their evening out. Her eyes were shut, mouth agape slightly, sleeping about as peaceful as one could get. The Kurta relaxed, knowing that she was there and she was alright, although he frowned when he stared upon the bandage that covered her cheek.

_'She was trying to pull me back from a fight. Got in between us. But that asshole... he grabbed at her, hit her, pushed her back... She was hurt. And I...'_

He groaned again, rubbing his temple. These blurred memories were starting to annoy him. Shaking his head, he gazed upon Melody again. She was probably really scared, his heartbeat was probably wild. He felt terrible with that knowledge; he never wants to upset her with that. In the short time they had known each other, he had come to see Melody as more than just a fellow bodyguard. She was a friend, and someone he had grown to care about. Although, in that regard, he also tried to keep her away, to keep her from falling into the same darkness he follows. Still, in those rare times that he allowed her to get close, he would do what he could to make sure he didn't cause her distress. Obviously, he failed, and it made him angry at himself for that.

A loud, snoring noise made Kurapika jump, his head quickly turning to his left. Sitting on a chair right next to the bed was Leorio, his arms crossed over his chest with half of his body leaning over onto the top of the bed frame, his mouth wide opened as he continued to snore, drool dripping down his chin. The sight actually wanted to make the blonde laugh out loud, but he thought against it as he quickly went to cover his mouth. However, that jovial feeling disappeared when he noticed bandages on Leorio's face and hands. _'Oh yeah... he went to grab at me, and I swung at him by mistake. I remember him yelling at me, but I don't remember the words. Then... everything went dark. He must had knocked me out,'_ he recalled, rubbing the back of his neck unconsciously.

The blonde had to guess that, after knocking him out, Leorio had to finish the fight for him. Or at least enough to safely make sure the three of them could get away. The next assumption he had was that they brought him to one of the rooms they had booked for the night, where they kept watch over him until they were both too exhausted to stay awake. He sighed softly, eyes closing as he turned away to look down at the hand he placed in his lap, seeing that it was bruised but clean.

_'They're always trying to care for me when I become reckless. How many times have they've done this now? How many times have I lost it so much that they had to get involved?'_ he pondered, his inner tone filled with guilt and frustration, _'It was supposed to be a nice night out. They wanted me to relax for once. And this is what happens. My own rage caused them both to become hurt and worried.'_

Hand clenched into a fist and teeth gritted, he seethed for a moment, sighing as he brought his hand up to his face, covering it shamefully. On his side, Melody could feel the subtle twitching of the arm she held. She stirred, eyes slowly opening, vision blurry at first, then clearing enough to see Kurapika was sitting up. She blinked, not processing it right away, gasping once she did, sitting up quickly.

"Kurapika, you're awake!" she exclaimed in her quiet voice, getting onto her knees, reaching over her friend to try and poke Leorio, having to use the end of her flute to actually reach, "Leorio, Leorio, wake up!"

The tall teen made a loud groan, swatting away at the object that was poking him in the head, "Ugh, what the hell? Why are you- Kurapika!"

He quickly moved in his chair, turning around to face the surprised blonde. "Hey, how are you feeling? Do you have a headache or anything?" Leorio asked, going into his "doctor" mode and checking over the blonde.

"No, I'm alright," the Kurta replied.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Melody asked worriedly.

"Yes. I promise. I'm alright," he responded to her, smiling slightly in hopes of reassuring her.

The two friends sighed in unison, feeling a sense of relief for a moment, before both of them glared at him, much to his chagrin.

"You idiot, why the hell did you go off like that!? I know the guy said something about the Spiders, but did you ever think that he was just talking about something on the news? You could've just taken a look on the networks later! Why did you have to go off and start fighting the dude!?" Leorio screamed at him.

"You shouldn't worry us like that! You were so angry, you could've beaten that man to death! It was frightening..." Melody commented, shirking back as she recalled the event, "Your heartbeat was so dark."

Dark grey eyes lowered, hands balled into fists, "I'm sorry. I didn't meant to worry you, or cause you harm."

The fingers on his right hand stretched out, reaching up to touch Melody's bandaged cheek, her hands moving to wrap themselves around his hand. "I'm sorry you got hurt because you tried to stop the fight," the blonde continued, gaze lingering on her for a moment before turning towards Leorio, his left hand resting gently on one of Leorio's wrapped knuckles, "And I'm sorry I hit you when you tried to pull me back. I'm also sorry if you got hurt more trying to fight that guy off after you knocked me out."

He turned away from them, arms falling into his lap, seething as he felt the burning pain of tiredness and tears in his eyes. "I'm very sorry... You two are always getting hurt somehow anytime I'm involved," he growled out through his teeth.

The other two glanced at each other, a look of empathy and sadness in their orbs. Melody shook her head, wrapping her small arms around Kurapika's shoulders, resting her head against one of them, her head nuzzling up against his cheek. She made the motion to Leorio to join her, much to his bit of discomfort at first. He sighed, moving to sit on the bed, his longer, lankier arms moving to wrap around both of them, chin resting atop the blonde's slightly unkempt locks.

"You dumbass. We get involved because we worry about you. You try to push us away because you're so intent on your revenge, but you can't just go at everything alone," Leorio said calmly, "We're your friends."

"We love you, Kurapika. No matter what happens, we'll try and be there for you," Melody added, "Even when you're the one to escalate things."

"That was a bit harsh."

"Really?"

Kurapika blinked, listening to them bicker friendly between each other, processing their words. He coughed, choking on a small sob that caught in his throat. Arms reached up to rest on their arms that surrounded him, squeezing them in his odd way of returning their affection. Each of them went quiet, allowing for the peace of the moment to hover over them. After a bit, they broke away, smiling at each other, content that things were alright.

Finally, Leorio yawned, moving his head from side to side, groaning as he felt and heard his neck pop. "Ugh... that's not a comfortable way to sleep. Both of you, scoot over," he demanded, moving to get onto the bed himself.

"What are you doing!?" Kurapika asked, a bit flustered but moving over all the same, trying not to push Melody off with him; sure, the bed was relatively large, but he didn't quite think that all three of them should share it!

"What do you think? I'm going back to sleep, and I'm not about continue sleeping on the chair."

"Okay, but-"

"More sleep does sound like a good idea," Melody agreed, yawning herself, "Maybe we can get a few more hours before we have to leave?"

"Go into my pocket and grab my phone. I'll set an alarm."

Kurapika made the motion to protest, but it was ultimately ignored as Melody did as told, handing Leorio the phone and he plugging in the alarm, sitting it on the chair next to him as he settled back down on the bed. He turned his back towards them, not covering himself with the blanket. Melody laid back down herself, moving her flute to a nearby table, dropping Leorio's jacket to the floor and covering herself with the blanket.

The blonde sighed, smiling faintly as he laid down as well, his back lining up against Leorio's and facing Melody. The flutist smiled happily at seeing Kurapika relax, unconsciously scooting herself a little closer to him. "Sleep well, Kurapika, Leorio," she said, closing her eyes.

"You too," Leorio replied with a wave off.

"Yeah," Kurapika replied softly, barely audible.

As the two began to drift back off to sleep, he laid there silent, listening to the soft sounds they made. He often fell into darkness, feeling like it was the only place he belonged, the only place he could call home now. But times like this, times when the darkness fade and bathed him in light, he realized how blessed he actually was. His mind flashed to images of all of his friends, all of his comrades, and he sighed contently at the thoughts. His gaze lingered on Melody's face for a moment before he closed his eyes, slowly allowing sleep to naturally overtake him as well.

_'...Thank you for being here with me.'_


End file.
